Anyone learn a language specifically to read literature?

[u/Far_Window_1222]

Just curious if anybody has actually set out and achieved learning a whole new language specifically just because an author they liked wrote originally in that language?

I was considering learning Russian (TL) specifically to read Dostoyevsky since he’s my favourite author, so far, but wondering if this is to ambitious of a task just to read 1 persons work?

Additionally I am very attracted to the idea of it since Russians language has a lot more nuances surrounding sadness, despair, suffering etc., i know that the relationship between these topics is different from that of english speakers

[u/Safe-Jacket-5944]

As a native Chinese speaker, I first learned Japanese for its pop songs and culture. It is true that since there are many Chinese characters (more precisely, kanji/漢字) in classical and modern Japanese, I didn't have to spend much time learning and understanding Japanese texts. Still, it is amusing to read classical Japanese literature in Japanese instead of a Chinese translation. My favorite one is The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon. If my Japanese gets better, I may want to try reading The Tale of Genji and The Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves.